Category Archives: Ranthambhore National Park

Whether it’s territorial clash between two grown up tigers or predatory pursuits or carcass gatherings of different animals, seasoned safaris in Ranthambhore National Park have notched up wildlife sightings we can’t imagine. Yet, if you ask us about that once-in-a-lifetime experience in the wild, it would be watching a mother tigress bringing her newborn cubs out in wilds just after 10 days. The T-84 (Machali Junior) gave birth to new cubs and they were first sighted in zone 2 of Ranthambhore Park on Thursday.

Image via Rajasthan Patrika

The mommy tigress in the rare image is showing the signs of recent birth. For the tigers, last few months of their pregnancy are a secret affair: they’ll usually isolate themselves to give birth in a sheltered, hidden spot, where the new arrivals are spirited away for the first four to six weeks of life. “Typically a big cat would move off on its own, give birth and only introduce her litters to open places when they are more capable of fending for themselves. But this is once in a lifetime experience. Currently, looking at the safety of the cubs, Tiger safari has been stopped at the national park.

But, be ready to witness more action as this summer will be exciting and full of frivolities of these young tigers as Ranthambhore’s Queen aka Arrow-Head will be seen roaming around with the new cubs.

One of the prime tourist attractions of Rajasthan, Ranthambore Tiger Safari opened for tourists from 1st October. Ranthambore Forest has maximum tiger density in the country. There are 10 zones in the national park and each zone has marked territories for several tigers. Zones 1 to 5 are considered prime spots for sightings of India’s national animal.

The thrill of spotting a tiger lures a huge number of people to the park throughout the time it stays open. T-16 better known as Machali was the most iconic tigress of the sanctuary. She passed away on 18th August 2016. Still, there are many more mighty wild cats for you to admire. People make numerous trips to this park to satiate their hunger for adventures.Whether you have been here before or are a first-timer, a visit to Ranthambore National Park will enthrall you. Here’s the schedule-

We were happier after the recent announcement of the opening of Wildlife reserves and parks to be opened for Monsoon, But after NTCA’s objection, Rajasthan Forest Department has taken its previous orders back and decided to close the reserves.

All the three tiger reserves of Rajasthan — Ranthambhore, Sariska and Mukandara — will be closed this year during monsoon. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the Rajasthan Forest Department has dropped its orders to keep the parks open during monsoon, as it is the breeding period of wild animals, especially the tigers, and also because of safety concerns for visitors.

Although, there is still some hope of tiger sighting as five of ten zones remain open during monsoon where tourism continues unabated. One zone of Sariska also remains opened for tourism during monsoon.

Ranthambore National Park rejoiced the monsoon travelers by throwing the park open to tourists in monsoon season too. But there’s an added price to pay as the Gypsy Safari has become costlier v.e.f. from June 23, 2017.

Yes the tourists will now have to shell out more from their pockets, for sighting tigers in Ranthambore National Park (RNP). The department of forest has hiked the safari charges for the tourists who want to ride a Gypsy in the Park. No hike has, however, been proposed for safari in canters.

Now, both domestic and foreign tourists will have to pay more for tiger safari in Ranthambore National Park. Previously, the booking price per person was Rs.727 for a domestic tourist and it has now been increased to Rs. 897 per person after the hike of Rs.170. Similarly, gypsy booking price for foreign tourists has been increased to Rs1,637 from the previous fee of Rs1,467. The increase in revenue is being attributed to the growing population of tigers in Ranthambore reserve.

Apart from this, Ranthambore in 2016 launched a ‘tatkal’ tiger safari scheme, allowing tourists to go on a full day or half day forest safari from sunrise to sunset.

Nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts can add one more option to their list of holiday destinations this monsoon. The national parks in Rajasthan, which are usually closed for monsoon between July 1 and September 30, will be thrown open to the tourists’ jungle safari by the forest department.

Ranthambore National Park (RNP), Sariska and Mukundra Tiger Reserves are the ones that will be kept open this monsoon season. The decision was taken at a recent meeting of the standing committee of the State Board of Wildlife and the Tiger Conservation Federation. Although, the onus of taking appropriate steps to implement the order with due attention to safety concerns, has been left to respective field directors.

During the last monsoon, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve had thrown open zones 6 to 10 for the public, where chances of tiger sightings were almost zero. But in a year, these have become popular zones of the critical tiger habitat, with reports good sightings of the big cat. “Tigers breed during all 12 months of a year. Some jungle tracks become slushy, but most of the terrain in the park is dry . Besides, opening the zones to tourism helped to check illegal grazing, cutting of forest, and other illegal activities during the monsoon as well as to monitor the movement of tigers,” wildlife experts said.

Zones in these parks will be kept open on a rotational basis for three months around the year, wherein each zone would be closed for three months. During monsoons, some zones will be opened for tourism depending on the critical circumstances, condition of roads and keeping in mind the safety of tourists.

So, plan your trip to Rajasthan now if you are looking forward to enjoying the thrills of Jungle in monsoon!

We remembering sharing with you some exciting reasons to go on Ranthambore wildlife safari in summer, that’s good but you should also know that visiting one of the Tiger Reserves in Rajasthan- Sariska will be costlier now.

The tiger safari in Sariska Tiger Reserve has become costlier after the recent hike. Tourists will now have to shell out Rs 1,000 more for the Gypsy safari, starting this month i.e. May, 2017. The forest department has now increased the Gypsy safari fee from Rs 3,280 to Rs 4,280, a hike of rs 1,000, from May 1. The Sariska Park has been faring badly in the wildlife safari circuit since 2005 and this new hike may take it even more down the preferred list of tourists.As it is, the park is short on tigers when compared to the more illustrious Ranthambore reserve.

With only 13 to 14 tigers compared to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve’s 60, sighting a big cat has become rare in Sariska, which is jokingly referred to as ‘buffalo sanctuary’. Instead of such price hikes, the government will have to draw up a comprehensive plan of action if it’s serious about reviving the park. The forest cover of Sariska reserve (1,100 sq km) is larger than Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, which spans over barely 392 sq km along with 60 tigers. Though Sariska lost all its tigers to poaching by 2005, it is now home to 14 big cats after relocation of tigers, distributed over a vast expanse of forest. To add to the woes, the forest department had copied the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve model and introduced three or four designated zones for tourists in Sariska.

Summer season is here again in its full bloom and the first thing that hits our mind about summers is the sweltering heat. Well, for the wildlife freaks there isn’t any better time to get into the lush forest of Ranthambore National Park. It is located in the Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, which is about 130 km from Jaipur.

Read to know the reasons why we are suggesting Summers as the best time for Ranthambhore-

One of the best place to see Feline Wonders- Yes, Ranthambhore Forest is one such place that has maximum tiger density when compared to any other tiger reserve of the country. The number of tigers increased to 60 in 2016. There are 10 zones in the national park and each zone has marked territories for several tigers. It is believed that zones 1 to 5 are the best places for spotting tigers. The remaining zones have lesser sightings for tigers.

Tigress T-60 with her cub, Ranthambhore, June 16.

2. Chances of sightings not so rare- As the deciduous forest is at its driest state, chances of sighting grows manifolds. Your eyes can wander through the wide dried jungle giving you far better chance to see the feline wonder even from a distance which is not the case in winters when the jungle is lush green. When the hot and blazing sun dries up all the water bodies in the forests, it becomes easier to see denizens of the wild who are forced to quench their thirst at these tiny oases left in this dry season of the year.

Tigress T-17, May 2012

3. Varied Habitat- Apart from that the great Landscape of Ranthambore is a sight to behold in itself; it is evident that Ranthambore is the only place which has ravines, lakes, vast fields, small plateaus and valleys, hilltops, rugged land all at one place. Besides the presence of historical ravines, the great Ranthambore Fort within the National Park makes up for a terrific backdrop for photography.

4. Glimpse near the water body– Birds and animals of the park appear panting and their usual movements become soporific as they spend most of their time in the shade of survived trees, which are left around perennial waterholes. This state of the deciduous forest in dry season creates a perfect condition for observing wildlife with the maximum chances of sightings because all the wildlife creatures will eventually pay a visit to have water; you just have to wait patiently around the water bodies.

The most amazing thing is this formation of several water belts in Ranthambore National Park. No matter how grilling the sun is, if you really wish to see the tigers then these are the spots you should drive to.

Another interesting advantage of visiting Ranthambore National Park in summer is the increasing alarm-calls or distress-calls emitted by langurs, when they see a predator. This helps in getting the direction as where to drive for tiger sighting. And without the benefit of covering grasses the tigers can be easily sighted, as the dry and sparse vegetation during summers is conducive for a clear glimpse into the heart of the jungle.

5. The Vintage Backdrop- Ranthambhore National Park carries with it decades of history. Witnessing the grandeur of majestic tiger against the glory of bygone era can not be experienced anywhere else as in its premises stands many archaeological remnant.

So the next time if you are wondering what could be the best time to visit Ranthambore, don’t allow the prospect of soaring temperature to divert your plans. We bet it is summer with its equivalent heat for sure, which is the coolest time to visit Ranthambore National Park.